theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Aug 10-12, 14-26 (17:35)

Fortiter in Re, Suaviter in Modo

The Quality of Mercy is an important piece of historical theatre, revealing the true horror of Britain’s most prolific serial killer. With an intimacy only theatre can deliver, Edwin Flay has written and acts in an impressive character study of Dr. Harold Shipman, known as Dr. Death. This is a particularly personal project for Flay given his own grandmother was one of Shipman’s victims. One gets the sense of the play as an important chronicle, to unpack a terrible saga so that we might avoid a repeat of history.

Conveying such a villainous figure without making him cartoonish is a huge challenge. In this case, Edwin Flay has built a masterful performance and an impressive piece of one-person theatre. He has the courage to present Shipman with enough normality so that he can carefully explicate the twisted pieces of the man and thus unfold the full horror incrementally. A very powerful effect is achieved, which is especially important for helping the audience understand how Shipman could have operated for so long without reprisal – quite simply, he seemed to be normal.

That is the biggest achievement of this play in my mind – to make plausible and understandable such a horrific character, so that the full creepiness can be witnessed. Prior to this point, I could barely conceive of how such a person could exist. This is sort of like visiting Auschwitz where one is taken inside an evil world and whilst an unpleasant experience, it is nonetheless instructive and necessary. We see a serial killer in the flesh presented believably, which is an experience one hopes to never have for real but in the theatre, is a perversely thrilling ride.

We see what can happen when a psychopath holds the trusted position of a medical doctor for many decades. One hopes we have individually evolved a sixth sense to pick up when something is seriously off with someone. It’s a feeling in the gut, raised hairs on the back of one’s neck – a physiological survival mechanism. Flay’s performance gave me a similarly disturbed feeling, which is a testament to the theatrical power of this piece and one of the many reasons why you should go see the show.

Where else can you safely bare witness to such a dark aspect of human nature, learn about it, and then step away into the day, free of its power? That is the transportative power of theatre, to take us inside worlds that we would otherwise never get to experience and which we can learn from without undue adversity. I deliberately did not research Dr Harold Shipman properly so that I could experience the power of having the complete biographical details revealed to me during the show.

Director and dramaturg Bernie C. Byrnes takes full advantage of the shocking scale of the crimes, crescendoing to a horrifying conclusion by projecting more of the victims names on the upstage wall as we observe increasingly creepy behaviour from Shipman. The names fill the wall and the gravity of the tragedy dawns on us. It is a deeply disturbing climax which must be seen firsthand to properly appreciate cathartically. This play delivers a profound experience whilst performing an important service and honouring the memories of the victims. It is not to be missed.

Stuart Bruce

La Belle Angele
Aug 10-13, 15-26 (13:30)

Esto Perpetua

Any play that starts with Mani’s well funky bass bit from I Am the Ressurrection that kicks off the big jam at the end of the Roses’ first album will do for me, like, & so my initial instinct proved. It was indeed quite ironic me sitting down in La Belle Angele for the first show of its daily program, Better Days, for I’d been on & off it since Saturday & my head was in some reyt bits. I’d taken something or other at some point or other & thus found myself flying far easier back in time to the late 80s/early 90s, when Better Days was set… to when the soliloquizing ‘Danny’ of this solo show began his journey from lager-swilling, hooligan-battering casual, to euphoric raver at the Dancing Dawn of that glorious New Age, when the pills were pure & the buzz was amazing & the love dripping down from the heavens mingl’d with the sweat of loved-up clubbers rebounding off the ceilings.

The piece comes from the now well-establish’d pen of Ben Tagoe, & it open’d down Leeds way about 6 months ago. Set in some nameless northern town, its got that anonymous run-down shit-hole streaking with all the colors of the rave rainbow kinda vibes going on. The drugg’d up period in which the play struts its stuff to some reyt bangin early 90s, bass-thumping, arm-waving classics coincides with my own ‘cultural’ awakening lets say, as a Burnley boy down the Lazerdrome in Peckham, London, having my first initiatory half-pill, follow’d not long after by trips with the Barnoldswick posse to the Orbit in Morley. I was well on board with this play, like.

“Guru Josh – what kind of a name is that? Start listening to that shit & yer out”
Danny’s Dad

I was also digging Ben’s bounding script bubbling with hip-hop standard rhyming, all pouring from the flawless tongue of Danny’s addictive & inspiring performance. Danny is play’d by a certain George Martin, who pulls off all the nuances of the play – highs & lows, darks & lights, pure & gouchy – with an impressive skill set & a confidence that belies the fact that this is first professional stage job. He has never really actually studied drama – a pure natural talent to light up a pure natural script. A casting director friend of Ben’s had spotted him in a workshop and recommended him, just like they were buzzin’ on a dance floor somewhere. “This is my new best mate, Ben, he’s well sound & can act like fuck!” “Nice one, I fuckin’ love you brother.”

It’s not all about the boys, tho’, Danny’s love relationship, & just how beautiful ecstasy-induced love can be, plays a prominent part of the play; as does Danny’s relationship with his dad & his innate & difficult to shed love of thuggery. All in all a cheeky masterwork, whose only drawback is that it’s on far too early in the day. I’d love to see this being perform’d to a room full of ravers – me being one of ’em.

Damo

Zoo Southside
Aug 9-13, 15-20, 22-27 (20:20)

Similia Similibus Curantur

Rome! Rome! Rome! So much history and intrigue fills the imagination with ideas of love, fine living and prosperity. History teaches us that while peace is a great idea, history is actually an extremely violent place, and the proof can be witnessed in Andronicus Synecdoche, the incredible play brought to us by Polish company ‘The Song of the Goat.’ Hosted by the beautiful auditorium that is the Zoo Southside, this piece of theatrical genius explores the darker side of Romans Emperors and their continuous struggle for power and control.

The inspiration behind Andronicus was Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, adapted with a new & diverse approach by 12 electrifying cast members, who continually had the audience transfixed at every moment. The room was dark and had an eerie feel to it; the anticipation was to be felt throughout the whole theater; silent and engaged the atmosphere was magical. Like a runaway train, Andronicus takes us on a journey full of suspense, rage, hate, love and the most important ingredient – war and ultimate death. With every turn and move the cast was accompanied by an harrowing and echoing music that pushed the actors into a more deadly state adding to the intensity that was evolving in front of us.

Titus, Tomora, Queen of the Goths and Lavinia all featured highly in this production. Like each link in a chain they serve a purpose, each with their own strength and weaknesses, and it soon becomes clear that this chain must be broken, at any cost. With a simple yet empowering stage set, each character delivers a mesmerizing performance and besides who needs big props when you can act as brilliantly as the cast proved they can, while at all times he choreography was precise and executed with professional excellence.

Delivering verse after verse of haunting. yet heart warming opera style vocals, the hairs on my arms were reaching for the heavens, a place destined for some who seek revenge in Andronicus. Your son could maybe burn like a stick of incense; your tongue maybe be removed; and a 1,000 cuts may cover your body – but truth is blacker than death & that’s the price you must pay for the struggle for power.

This tale delivers on all fronts; lust, sex, violence, treason, revenge, death, destruction of souls, scaring, wounding, deceit, conflict and betrayal – all of which have been stirred up into a cocktail of theatrical mastery. The result is a bloodbath of Emperors and Villains, with no real winners or losers other than the cast members and production of The Song of the Goat.

An amazing and entertaining piece of theater that will have an audience pining for more. A must see at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Andronicus Synecdoche might even evoke some present day similarities to the world we live in. The continuous fight to be the one on top…

Raymond Speedie

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall – Theatre 1

 Aug 9-12, 14-19 (18:35)

Non Licet Omnibus Adire Corinthum

Amy Nic’s One Week in Magaluf is a sheer delight! I really lov’d the fact that its form’d by pure feminine energy, no men involv’d anywhere, both on stage & behind, which really does create a welcoming & vibe-nurturing buzz.

This earthy funball of joviality is also an aesthetic treat, lots of costume changes & visual gags. This fly-on-the-wall account involves a lassies trip to Magaluf; four twenty-somethings returning to the island for another bout of sunshine & sexual chicanery. Thing is, this time, life-changes back in Britain will now be affecting the holiday, which starts to crack & divided into fractious fractions.

Luckily for us, the play is just downright hilarious, really well written, while beautifully sung & choreographised rewrites of famous pop songs keep the show hurtling along at a fast pace. Scenes vary as we follow the adventures & misadventures of our little group, from hotel room to beach to bangin’ bar. Among the multitudinous lines of snip-snappy dialogue, my favorite was the metaphor of being a sea-turtle, swimming the seas of life – alone & iron-clad – absolute poetry!

“Someone remind me to get more condoms, I can’t afford to get as much chlamydia as last time”

Each actress performs their role consummately, while especial praise should be given to the writer & director Amy Nic herself, who pulls off several characters, whose best is Julio, who was an actual Commedia dell’arte avatarial improvement upon Benidorm’s Solana barman, Mateo Castellanos. Come the mature resolutions at the ending, I even had a tear or two bubbling up, for One Week in Magaluf had the brilliance of connecting its characters to our own selves, so universal is its humanity, so engaging is its delivery.

Damo

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Aug 9-12, 14-26

Maxima Debetur Puero Reverentia

Boddah was Kurt Cobain’s imaginary childhood friend whom he wrote a letter to before committing suicide at the relatively young age of 27. This one act play, Letter to Boddah (by Sarah Nelson), is a suicide note of sorts but don’t worry, it’s also a comedy. Therein lies its greatest strength which is of course a big challenge, to play both sides, light and dark, entertaining in the middle of the day whilst also respecting the dramatic premise. This play achieves that superbly well given that it’s genuinely funny as well as being profoundly dark – and the audience responded accordingly.

The comedic elements, for me, were the most powerful because they had the effect of loosening up the audience so that darker material can be explored. That is this play’s strength – it doesn’t depress the audience but is still highly dramatic and respectfully explores the characters’ plight. That was the element I found most disturbing, even more than the situation of the piece – two young men in a public toilet in Tesco with explosives and ill-intent. As I was charmed by the characters, I had to keep reminding myself of the dark events unfolding.

This is a great example of writing that connects regular life, which we want so badly to be joyful, with the broader narrative underway in wider society, which at the moment is suffering immensely from decades of austerity. The setting of a disabled toilet in Tesco serves as a metaphor for the dysfunctional container that is predatory neoliberal capitalism in Britain. The characters are incited to act against the forces that oppress them, which in combination with continual references to their stifling domestic life and history of trauma, represents the fraying ends of the social fabric. These young men, bursting with masculine humanity, find themselves with nothing but pain and regret from a world that has no place for them. They clearly have all the pieces within to make positive contributions to society but society has left them no way out but to reach for violence as self-expression.

If that sounds bleak, that’s because it is and so it should be because this is daring theatre – instructive, discomforting and unafraid to go to a dark place so that we might open our hearts to those who struggle. My instinct to laugh and reach for the positive and resist what was happening, exposed the human bias to ignore the suffering of others because it’s unpleasant. What does that say about the compassion of society itself? We’re exposed to tragedies in the news and on the street, on a daily basis. We could do more yet we laugh and turn away.

That, to me, was the ultimate tragic premise that I drew from the piece. I couldn’t help noticing that I wanted to learn more about how bad their history must have been in order to fully believe they could be alienated enough to commit violence. Some of the flashbacks and allusions I found a little clunky with the result being that I don’t think the play elucidates the “why” for the characters enough. However, maybe that’s the point. I left the theatre with the questions of “why” and “how” clinging to me, dogging me, which admittedly did make me realise that is often a natural human state – to not be able to empathise and really understand why enough to help people in crisis.

The actors have pretty much the hardest challenge in acting, to play an authentic extremist – deluded enough to believe violence can be a useful contribution but also human enough to be relatable and understandable. Kyle Fisher and Jordan Reece navigate this gauntlet admirably, maintaining enormous energy and commitment throughout. It’s a tightrope they successfully managed to traverse, given that if they are “too real”, the comedy might not work and the audience could close up – losing the power of balancing comedy with tragedy. Instead, they are able to inspire the laughs and shift gears to embody the dark reality of the experience. Impressive.

Prepare to be challenged. The play is a clarion call for compassion. How could things every get this bad for these characters, for this generation, and we have seriously not been able to do more? Like the Greek tragedians millennia ago, the vital role of negative character arcs and protracted adversity on stage, is such that we might fully be confronted by the story and thus confront our own nature.

Stuart Bruce

Greenside @ Infirmary Street
Aug 8th – 12th, 14th – 19th, 21st – 26th

Parce Sepulto

‘Abbey’s Box’ by one Abbey Glover is a show at the Fringe that covers many topics but struck me as being a play about requited love. She sat on a stool in the room (Greenside @ Infirmary street) with a great smile and a deep look of such love in her eyes, that also held a friendly stare as her audience filled the vacuum.

There was a very spacious attention and attitude there before we had even sat down. As soon as she spoke we heard a clear and ringing American accent, honouring the Fringe’s International appeal. It was just her though through a few delectable dialogues she plucked a long cardboard box as if from the audience.

She climbed in and out of this box to frequent stage timings. She used simple props to bring a illusionary side to proceedings and her first trick was to stand on the stool and appear giant like, but this was the introduction to her man crush (I can’t live without you) Daniel that she discussed in reverence.

A powerful intimacy was ever present, with the small room seeming to fit perfectly in its high ceiling and square proportions. Her costume was brown dungarees with a little label that stated liberty, I should have guessed why she included that little detail but it only dawned on me later on. Our sense of her solitude (at least on stage) had a great driving momentum of sensation as her story of dialogue poured forth and gathered itself, I was mesmerised in its metric delivery and good form.

Even as she stepped inside her box we saw her shrink in form and use it to shield certain portions of life difficult to manage she felt hard to comprehend. When she fooled around it was meaningful as she was ever full of promise, she and Daniel partnered up and dealt with the wealth of the world together, he for her and her for him.

But her box she still held in place as a firmament that gave her sacred space even if only as a barrier to be knocked down. It was a play about self knowing and the sheer thunder it can create. Offering an insight or vision into her developmental characters or personalities that dwell within and are called for in the very throes of her existence, and her intimacy was nothing less than that, denoting facts by example, thought by thread and acts by courageous letting loose of the animal or fiend behind or inside her. I took it all in with delight, her quiet moments of total gentleness where receiving her words was a pleasure, and watching her movements and gesticulations as a treasure.

All became more and more intimate, and so happened with a kind of surreal involvement a cementing of bond ship, and friendship between us: her and her audience, cleverly whiling away and unthreading content. Her eyes could stare and did peeking into yours directly and with somewhat discomfort. Most enjoyable, very astute and very sensitive, she grew in size and shrank in size ever focused on this man she loved and ever materialising her very presence on stage, well worth a quite intense hour of classic though modern theatre

Daniel Donnelly

@theSpace, Symposium Hall
August 4th – 27th at (13.35)

The name is Bond… James Bond. Who is James Bond and where did he originate from? James Bond was a fictional British Agent who worked for the British Secret Service and was the creation of Ian Fleming in 1953. Six decades on, Bond is an international phenomenon and is recognized as being one of the best known spies of our time. Night Owl Shows, recognizing Bond’s appeal, have created a show that takes you on a journey, deep into the world of espionage with more famous villains than an octopus has legs.

As soon as the first guitar chord was struck my gut feeling was this show is a guaranteed winner at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2023. With just a few people short of a full house this certainly was a beautiful way to start any Sunday afternoon, let alone the Edinburgh Fringe. 007 Voices of Bond is being hosted in the quaint auditorium that is Symposium Hall. Moderate in size, but acoustically perfect for the thought-provoking themes of the Bond movies. With a voice as smooth as silk, Maia Elsey takes the lead vocals for some of the more famous soundtracks to have graced our screens, while delivering a short but informative account of the background and evolution of each song preformed. The accompanying band, consisting of guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, were as tight as a jam-jar lid, with no quarter given.

Well synchronized and beautifully executed, I couldn’t help but notice that the hairs on my arms and legs were twitching to stand up, goose bumps and a warm sense of joy filling every part of my being. Hands clapping, heads rocking and feet tapping were a clear sign of an audience that was totally emerged in the world of James Bond. Whether you’re a big fan of Bond or just a lover of cinema, this experience will stay with you for years to come.

Driving through the James Bond time capsule from Casino Royale in 1953, to the most recent outing No Time To Die, the now captivated audience were treated to such delights as Diamonds are Forever, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and, well you will have came and engage in Voices of Bond to be part of something that is truly special.

This show definitely honors the legacy of John Barry and Monty Norman, not forgetting to mention the incredible voices of Sheena Easton, Gladys Knight, Billie Eilish , Shirley Bassey, Carly Simon and Adele whom are all showcased by the highly talented Maia Elsey. Direct in its approach, 007 was created and crafted with only one purpose in mind, to thrill you, excite you and expose your inner love for all things Bond.

Music at its best!

Raymond Speedie

Surgeon’s Hall
August 4-12, 14-26

Errare Humanaem Est

I love mi Agatha Christie me, she’s reyt good, a book or two of whom will always accompany me on mi ‘olidiz. I also love Columbo, tho’ discovering who did it at the start does distract somewhat from the puzzle – but fortunately watching the great man in action is always a delight! So, when I notic’d that a Murder Mystery troupe was winging into the Fringe, it flew right to the top of my theater review list.

Off to the Surgeon’s Hall I strutted, a really nice sunny Sunday bubbling with Fringe loveliness, & was soon sitting in a sold out-show with four actors & an enthusiastic swathe of amateur sleuths. Then began the setting of the scene, four American accents filling the room with dodgy puns & the background of the tale. There’s been a murder at Corny Brothers studios; then another, & one of our four characters has definitely done it, but which one?

“Get behind it, it’s going to be happening.”

Then for me a big surprise. The thing is, Highly Suspect incorporate the British after-dinner predilection for cracking out the murder mystery games, & I suddenly had a folder full of notes & clues & codes & writing, which after raving down Whistle Binkies til 5AM the previous night was not ideal. Luckily, there was also the chance of composing a limerick, which I focussed on instead, while observing the intense sleuthery rumbling all around me.

Twas a destiny dark & ill-fated
Tom Corny was decapitated
The studio lock’d down
The facts pass’d around
Were quite fiendishly investigated

Next came a number of speeches from the cast, helping us to fill in the gaps not provided by the folder-clues. What amazed me reverentially is that, between everybody, the room actually got the right answer. I was also bless’d to sit next to some reyt Bletchley Parkers, who actually cracked the little black book code of Greta Garbage, the southern belle star of the background film ‘Back with the Breeze‘ – the sequel to Gone With The Wind.

For those who love their theater interactive, & also possess an analytical mind, Murder at the Movies is a joy, while its also, I guess, a competition. Trying to decipher it all with a massive hangover, wasn’t the best – tho I still enjoy’d myself thoroughly, & was completely wrong when, after the audience’s knee-slapping drum roll, the murderer stepp’d out from the line-up.

Now I know what’s going on with Highly Suspect, I’ll be better prepar’d for their other show at the Fringe, Murder on the Disorient Express. Well, that’s what I thought right before I pass’d the cast in the Surgeon’s Hall bar, complementing them on the show & exclaim;d I was very much looking forward to doing better next time. ‘Oh, the next one’s more difficult, but you do get more time for it,’ they replied. In that case, I told myself, I’m not gonna drink for three days before I go in…

Damo

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
4/8/23

Haud Ignota Loquor

“No time for tea, Mrs Hudson, the game is afoot!” Sherlock Holmes is on the case in Edinburgh, the city of course where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first conceived of Holmes for ‘A Study in Scarlet’ (1887). How fitting that this piece be staged at Surgeon’s Hall given that the character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Dr Bell, the enigmatic doctor from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with an acute eye for inference.

Prepare to live the major moments of Holmes’ life vicariously through the raconteuring of veteran actor, Nigel Miles-Thomas. Written by Conan Doyle expert, David Stuart Davies and directed by Gareth Armstrong, a steady stream of biographical interpretations and insights adorn this nostalgic contribution to the Holmes canon. Best enjoyed by enthusiasts who would be moved by a commited theatricalisation of the character they know and love.

Miles-Thomas delivers a suitably compelling Holmes, more than capable of stalking the shadowy alleyways of old London town. Accompanying Holmes is another 13 characters, all played by Miles-Thomas to paint a rich canvass for the imagination.

The dedication from both performer and director is evident in this hour long piece, with a level of detail befitting the expertise and accumulated knowledge of Davies. The scope of the show would benefit from expansion via another actor or two but given the understandable practical benefits of the one-person format, they nevertheless make appropriate use of the form.

This is a piece to warm the hearts of Holmes afficionados and fans alike, with a healthy serving of the inimitable Conan Doyle macabre. Beware the gigantic hound!

Stuart Bruce